Babies And Bathwater
by Amanda Yates
Summary: When Merlin comes back with an additional baggage Arthur's flummoxed, and this is just the beginning. Arthur/Merlin.


**Just a one shot series, please read and review, Arthur/Gwen, Arthur/Merlin, Merlin/Knights( non romantic) relationship.**

**Babies and Bathwater( Series Part 1) Arrival **

Arthur barged through the small wooden door that separated him from seeing his lousy, incompetent, annoying, worthless servant.

Gaius looked up from his work startled, but Arthur stopped at the doorway. He'd found his servant alright, after two full weeks of disappearance he had finally found Merlin.

Merlin who was fast asleep on his small bed cradling what could not be anything other than a new born infant close to his side.

Arthur turned to Gaius who was looking shifty and refused to meet Arthur's eyes. Arthur decided that he'd had enough and moved forward and gave Merlin a hard shove on his bony shoulder taking care to not jostle the infant.

Merlin scrunched up his face in complete annoyance before he woke up and started to look panicked.

"Arthur…what are you doing here?"

Arthur scoffed, "What am I doing here? Why don't you tell me what you are doing here after disappearing on me for two whole weeks? And what is that thing?"

Merlin immediately snapped, "She's not a thing Arthur!"

"And stop shouting, you'll wake her. Let's take this downstairs."

Merlin got up wincing as he did so and Arthur noticed but didn't comment on it. Frankly he was still in shock after seeing Merlin. When he'd exhausted himself waiting day after day he'd come to believe that Merlin was never coming back, back to Camelot, back to his rightful home, and back to Arthur.

And god didn't that drive a few truths home, he could never deny his feelings for Merlin any longer, he'd been made to realize them abruptly and rudely, he could not imagine a life without Merlin in it.

Merlin sat in one of Gaius' old rickety stools and rubbed at his temples. When he didn't seem inclined to say anything Arthur prompted, "So, are you going to give me a good reason to not banish you anytime now?"

Arthur expected Merlin to be remorseful but Merlin turned up and glared at him.

And then after a minute had passed Merlin seemed to visibly contain his exasperation and said "I had to go to Ealdor for a while, I'm sorry I didn't tell you where I was going. I figured it wouldn't take as long as two weeks to come back but here I am now…."

"Why did you need to go back to Ealdor? Is it Hunith, is she sick?" asked Arthur with genuine concern.

Merlin gave him an affectionate smile before saying "No, no, my mother is well actually."

"Then why did you run off without telling me? And why did you bring back that creature?" asked Arthur frankly annoyed now.

"She's not a creature Arthur, she's a human baby and she has a name so stop calling her all manner of things." Merlin berated.

Arthur kept silent, cogs turning in his mind, "Is she yours? Did you unwittingly impregnate a poor lass Merlin?" asked Arthur, barely containing the jealous rage that bubbled up inside him.

"No, she's an orphan; she was abandoned in my mother's doorstep in Ealdor."

Gaius who was standing behind Arthur raised his eyebrow disapprovingly at Merlin but Merlin ploughed on, he couldn't let Arthur know the truth about the baby, "My mother cannot take care of her so I brought her here with me."

Arthur contemplated this for a minute before he asked incredulously, "You're going to take care of a baby? That must not be something that's allowed in the universe; you'll probably drop it on its head and kill it." 

"Thanks for that Arthur, really, I only take care of everything for you including dressing you. Short of wiping your bum I've been taking care of a grown infant for as long as I've lived in Camelot!"

Arthur spluttered wanting to deny these outrageous accusations which where nothing but deliberate lies of the deluded mind of Merlin's.

"But she needs proper parents Merlin, a mother and a father, and a proper home. I'll put word out for somebody to adopt her."

"NO!" Merlin stood up and the vehemence of his stance made Arthur take an involuntary step back. "You will do no such thing, she's my child now and if you or anyone else tries to take her from me I'll run and you won't ever find me."

Arthur was quite sure he could find Merlin, he was great tracker but he could see that Merlin meant it when he said he wanted nobody to separate him from this child so Arthur let the subject drop for now, he'd try reasoning with Merlin later, the utter girl had probably gotten too attached to the infant.

There was sharp cry that pierced the air just that moment and Arthur had never seen Merlin run as fast as he did back to his room. He slammed the door shut and Arthur wondered if Merlin was in a tizzy again.

Gaius was looking at Merlin's door in consternation but amazingly the noise of crying stopped. Arthur looked at Gaius trying to reason with the old man, "Gaius, you must make him see reason."

Gaius who was usually known to be quite realistic only shook his head minutely saying "I think it would be best if you let the matter rest sire."

The door to Merlin's small rooms opened then and Merlin himself walked out holding the infant carefully with both of his arms. And apparently he was natural at it because there was no clumsiness in his movements which were the very thing that defined Merlin from other more co-ordinated humans in Arthur's opinion.

Arthur came closer and Merlin shot him a suspicious glare, he hastened to Merlin's side and peeked at the infant.

For a new born the child looked incredibly beautiful and Arthur sucked in a sharp breath as he looked at the small tuft of light brown hair and cobalt blue eyes that looked up from the baby's rather small face.

Were babies supposed to be this small?

He never knew because he'd never been very fond of babies.

"What have you named her?" asked Arthur eventually.

"Catherine"

Arthur was impressed, he hummed, "It suits her."

Merlin gave Arthur a small smile "Thankyou."

**Did you guys like it? Please review. **


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